Silambam Nillaikalakki
A line of silambam brought to Malaysia by a master from Tamil Nadu. The Silambam Nillaikalakki association in Penang was founded in February 1975.
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About Silambam Nillaikalakki
According to the Malaysian press, Silambam Nillaikalakki is a line of silambam brought to Malaysia by the master Mariapakkiam from Tamil Nadu. His student Anbanathan Ramasamy, who had studied with him from the age of fourteen, founded the Silambam Nillaikalakki association in Penang in 1975 after fifteen years of training. The Penang state government newsletter Buletin Mutiara gives 25 February 1975 as the founding date and writes that the association considers itself one of the oldest of its kind in Malaysia.
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The magazine Penang Monthly (2014) explains the name as nillai meaning stance and kalakki meaning to stir up or mix, which in its view alludes to the rapidly changing strikes of silambam that are meant to confuse the opponent. Training is done with a bamboo staff 1.68 metres long. According to Buletin Mutiara, the association claims to be the only silambam discipline in the world that has kept its original form, and it focuses on staff spinning, footwork, animal movements and various tricks of attack. According to the association chairman Amuthan Arjunan, mastering the staff takes about two years. In January 2025, the grandmaster of Silambam Nillaikalakki, Anbanathan Ramasamy, then seventy-seven years old, received the Living Heritage Treasures award from Penang Heritage Trust from the hands of Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, and according to the daily The Vibes he still leads four lessons a week. This is a little-documented line and we are still looking for other reliable sources about it.
History
The Malaysian national daily The Vibes (January 2025) describes Silambam Nillaikalakki as an offshoot of silambam. It says the master Mariapakkiam from Tamil Nadu brought the tradition to Malaysia. His student Anbanathan Ramasamy studied under him from the age of fourteen and, after fifteen years of training, founded the Silambam Nillaikalakki Penang association in 1975. The Penang state government newsletter Buletin Mutiara (2022) gives 25 February 1975 as the founding date and writes that the association considers itself one of the oldest of its kind in Malaysia.
Technique
According to the newsletter Buletin Mutiara (2022), the association claims to be the only silambam discipline in the world that has kept its original form, and says it focuses on staff spinning, footwork, animal movements and various tricks of attack. The magazine Penang Monthly (2014) states that training is done with a bamboo staff 1.68 metres long, and according to the association chairman Amuthan Arjunan, quoted by The Star (2016), mastering the staff takes about two years.
Today
In January 2025, the grandmaster of Silambam Nillaikalakki, Anbanathan Ramasamy, then seventy-seven years old, received the Living Heritage Treasures award from Penang Heritage Trust from the hands of Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, and according to the daily The Vibes he still leads four lessons a week. The daily The Star wrote in 2016 that about twenty participants learned Nilaikalakki Silambam at the Penang heritage festival.
Did you know
The magazine Penang Monthly (2014) explains the name: nillai means stance and kalakki to stir up or mix. According to the magazine, this alludes to the rapidly changing strikes of silambam meant to confuse the opponent. The spelling of the name in the press varies between Nillaikalakki and Nilaikalakki.
Frequently asked questions
What is Silambam Nillaikalakki?
A line of silambam which, according to the Malaysian press, was brought to Malaysia by the master Mariapakkiam from Tamil Nadu. The Silambam Nillaikalakki association was founded in Penang in 1975.
What does the name Nillaikalakki mean?
According to the magazine Penang Monthly, nillai means stance and kalakki means to stir up or mix, which alludes to rapidly changing strikes meant to confuse the opponent.
How long does it take to learn to handle the staff?
According to the association chairman Amuthan Arjunan, quoted by the daily The Star, about two years.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.